According to ESPN Michael Jordan will be the cover athlete for NBA 2K11.

There hasn't been any details on how Jordan will be involved in the game. There could be a game mode where you get to relive some of Jordan's greatest moments - which could be a game in itself. Having Jordan as a mentor in NBA 2K's "My Player" mode would be interesting as well. NBA 2K has always had classic teams like 80s West, 70s East etc.. Jordan would probably be part of the 90s East roster.

This is the first time Jordan has been in a basketball video game since NBA Live 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards. He was also a playable character in EA Big's NBA Street Vol. 2 - where you could play as a 1985 Jordan, a 1996 Jordan and a Wizards version of Jordan.

During most of the 1990s game developers didn't have the permission to use Jordan's likeness in video games. In a game like NBA Live 98, for example, he would be listed on the Bulls' roster as "player 99." So users would always have to edit or create their own Jordan character.

This isn't the first time Jordan has been on the cover of a video game. He shared a cover with Celtics legend Larry Bird on the classic NES title Jordan vs. Bird.

Jordan was also in EA Sports' Lakers vs. Celtics, Bulls vs. Lakers, Bulls vs. Blazers and Team USA Basketball in the early 90s. After that he wasn't in a game until NBA Live 2000 when you could unlock him after beating him in a game of one-on-one.

Mix one part chess, one part wargame and one part first-person shooter and you get Legio.
The turn-based strategy game comes from Ice Game Studios and is published by Paradox Interactive. Available for the PC, Legio costs $9.99 and requires Windows XP/Vista, a 2.4 GHz P4 and 512 MB of RAM. For more details, visit www.legiogame.com.
The back story for Legio involves Theoron the Witty, king of Bella Lagucia. After the king's death, his son Lorenzo and daughter Florentia battle for control of the kingdom.
These battles constitute the gameplay in Legio.
A battle consists of two rounds; each plays out on a different type of board divided into squares.
At the start of the first battle, each player gets to spend up to 25 points to purchase playing pieces. In the second round, each player gets another 25 points. The difference is that the winner of the first round also gets to field any surviving pieces.
When a piece is able to move is determined by its initiative value. The higher the value, the earlier the piece can move.
There are eight types of pieces: captain (boosts attack/defense values of adjacent units); warrabbit (leaps over units); assassin (invisibility); archer (ranged attack); priest (healing); magician (ranged area attack); giant (area melee attack) and warrior (melee attack).
Each piece can move and/or attack in a turn. Players also can elect to keep a piece in place and "defend," which boosts its ability to withstand an attack.
So where does the FSP element come into play in this strategy game?
When an attack is to be made players see a closeup of the defender. A target moves around the piece. To do the most damage, click on the target when it lines up with the circle on the defender.
Gamers can play against the computer or against a live opponent either on the same PC, LAN or online. There are three difficulty levels.
The graphics and animations look great. The sound effects and music are enjoyable.
Legio appears to be a deceptively simple game. However, picking the right mix of pieces can be a real challenge.

505 Games has released a new video for their upcoming title Naughty Bear.

Shawn Baxter is the community specialist for Capcom's Lost Planet 2. We talked about the 4-player co-op experience in LP2 and other new features in the game. Click on the link below to listen to the full interview.

Today I had a chance to speak with Backbreaker associate producer Rob Donald. We talked about all the new features for 505 Games' upcoming football title. Click on the link below to listen to the full interview.

Rob and I talked a lot about Backbreaker's passing game and how it's different from any other football game. Here's a video that shows the unique passing controls in Backbreaker.

For more information on Backbreaker you can check out their official website. Backbreaker ships on June 1st for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

What could be the biggest game of the year now has a release date: Sept. 14.
Halo:Reach from Bungie and Microsoft will be available for the Xbox 360.
In this prequel to the Halo series, the Noble Team makes a last stand on the planet Reach against Convenant forces. Reach is humanity's last line of defense before Earth.
During May, more than 2.7 million players took part in a Halo: Reach multiplayer beta test on Xbox Live.
Elsewhere:

• Viva Media will release Alter Ego, a mystery thriller, on Aug. 1.


• The next chapter in the Fable series will arrive for Windows and the Xbox 360 for the holidays. Fable III comes from Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios.


• Planned for 2011 is Knights Contract from Namco Bandai Games America for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Heinrich, an immoral executioner, and Gretchen, a resurrected witch, team up to rid the world of a supernatural evil.

Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that a demo for Green Day: Rock Band is now available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network.

Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" are the two playable songs on the demo.

ModNation Racers, simply put, is LittleBigPlanet combined with Mario Kart. And that combination is a winner for the folks at Sony and United Front Games.

The whole creation aspect of ModNation Racers is what will keep people coming back. Characters, karts and tracks are all customizable and can be shared with the community. Whenever you give the community the tools to create and share, you'll always get great content. When I first got my hands on the game I went straight to check out the highest rated mods that were created by the community, and there were already hundreds to choose from. Characters like Spiderman, Spongebob and a couple of Italian plumbers were some of the racers that you could download. The karts were even better, the General Lee, the van from the A-Team and Optimus Prime were all downloaded into my library. All of these characters and karts were created by other players using the same tools that the developers used to create the game. And it really shows in the quality of the creations.

Now I didn't just download created content, I made some of my own as well. I created my own track, with some direction from my 7-year-old. We made a track off the ocean with lots of twists and turns and a tree in the middle of the track - just to throw racers off. We added some donkeys on the side of the road and some houses on hills. All of our ramps were strategically placed to create as much mayhem as possible. You have so many options when it comes to creating your own track, it can be a bit overwhelming. Because of that the game has an auto-populate feature that will complete your track once you've added all the items you want. When I was done I uploaded my masterpiece to share with the community. Maybe I'll get a download or two? Probably not. But I'll enjoy my creation nevertheless.

So when I finally picked my driver and kart (Mr. Peanut driving the A-Team van) I went to the career mode to see how ModNation Racers handled itself on the track. You do have a couple pre-race options like sacrificing speed for more acceleration or drift for handling and vice/versa. Like Mario Kart, ModNation Racers has weapons that you use to wreck your opponents. But unlike Mario Kart you can collect as many as three mod pods to make a particular attack more powerful. For example, the missile attack with just one pod will shoot one missile, not very accurate, toward the racer in front of you. If you get the level two missile attack you'll have more accuracy as two missiles are deployed from your kart. Get the level 3 missile attack and you'll shoot several missiles taking out everyone ahead of you.

But this is where some of the strategy of ModNation Racers comes in. If you have attacks saved, and you get attacked, you'll lose them. So do you risk holding on and trying for the big hit? Or do you use your attacks as soon as you get them? There's also a boost meeter that will give you extra speed (holding the L1 trigger) until the meter runs out. The meter can also be used as a defense shield for incoming attacks. The meter is replenished by drifting corners, drafting and successful attacks on other racers. You can also use the right stick to slam your opponents while driving. See someone getting close to the edge on a bridge? Give them a friendly little nudge and send them crashing into the water.

The career mode has you go through a series of races in the ModNation Racing Championship. Each track has a set of challenges. Each challenge you complete unlocks parts and accessories for your creation center. For a greater challenge you can take your kart and race online with up to 11 other players.

Every option in ModNation Racers is accessible through the main menu that allows you to drive from game mode to game mode. While driving in the main menu, if connected online, you'll encounter other drivers. You can quick chat with other drivers or invite them to races. Creations are also on display in the main menu. The top 3 downloaded racers are on display in statue form on stage, as well as the top 3 downloaded karts. I thought that was a nice little touch.

After many years, and countless pretenders, ModNation Racers is a legit contender for the kart-racing crown that Mario Kart has held since the 1990s. The creation aspect is the reason players will keep coming back. Even if you need a break from racing, you can spend hours creating your own characters, karts and tracks. And that is what sets ModNation Racers apart.

505 Games has released videos showing the customization, passing game and running game for its upcoming football title Backbreaker. Now the defense gets to show its stuff in this latest video.

Today Electronic Arts announced a 4-year agreement with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). NHL 11 will feature the three teams that comprise the CHL - the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. All teams and players will be represented in the game.

"The CHL is very excited to partner with an industry leader like EA SPORTS to create a brand new way for CHL fans to associate with their favorite CHL teams and players," CHL President David Branch said. "This opportunity also provides EA SPORTS fans around the world the ability to learn more about the next wave of NHL stars as they compete in the best development league in the world."

The CHL will be incorporated into the NHL franchise in the following ways.

• Ability to play with all 60 teams that make up the CHL


• Names and Likenesses of players that are on the rosters of a CHL team


• Mastercard Memorial Cup


• CHL new RBK Edge Jersey design in NHL 11


• WHL, OHL and QMJHL logos and league structures


• The CHL integration in NHL 11 will tie to several modes in the game, including Be A Pro, Be A GM, Tournament Mode, Season Mode and Playoff Mode.

Artwork has been revealed for the online multiplayer game Mytheon from True Games Interactive and Petroglyph.
Depicted above are Athena and Pegasus.
Mytheon, which now is in beta testing, centers around classic mythology. Players take the role of "Stonecasters," who can cast spells, summon forces and build structures. The game is described as and action/RPG with strategic gameplay.
Elsewhere:

• True Games also announced new content for its online game Warrior Epic. They include a new crafting system and six new, crafted Legendary weapons. Check it out at www.WarriorEpic.com.


• Some of your favorite games from the Sega Genesis system will be coming to the PC, the company announced. Among those available first ($2.99 each) are Golden Axe, Ecco the Dolphin, Comix Zone and Vectorman. The release date is June 1.


• For strategy fans: Paradox Interactive and AGEOD announced the release of World War One Gold Edition. Meanwhile, Hearts of Iron 3: Semper Fi, the first expansion of the World War II game, will be released on June 6, D-Day.


• Speaking of military games, Moscow-based 1C Company plans Theatre of War 2: Korea as the next installment of its Theatre of War series.

In the latest edition of the Madden NFL 11 Developer Video Series the team talks about Gus Johnson being the new play-by-play voice. Johnson, who replaces Tom Hammond, will join Cris Collinsworth in the Madden booth.

I am not a fan of Johnson's over-the-top, borderline screaming, play-by-play work in the NFL and college basketball. But it could be better suited for a video game. It will be interesting to see how it translates. I am happy to see Collinsworth return. His commentary on Madden the last two years has been outstanding.

505 Games and NaturalMotion have announced that the Backbreaker demo has hit the Xbox Live Marketplace and is available for download. 505 Games says a demo for the Playstation 3 will be "available soon."
Users will be able to play in exhibition mode with six teams to choose from. The weather will vary as the game takes place in San Francisco Stadium. The demo also features a training camp mode that will let players practice their running, passing and tackling skills.

Backbreaker will be available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on Tuesday June 1st.

Pantera's "The Great Southern Trendkill" will be coming to the Rock Band Music Store on Tuesday May 25th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

• The Great Southern Trendkill


• War Nerve


• Drag the Waters


• 10's


• 13 Steps to Nowhere


• Suicide Note Pt. II


• Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)


• Floods


• The Underground in America


• (Reprise) Sandblasted Skin

Winners of the Cross Fire North American/UK Championship can earn a berth at The World E-Sports Masters to be held in October in China.
The championship is sponsored by the World Online Gaming League and G4Box, the North American publisher.
Cross Fire is a free-to-play, team-based first-person shooter. There will be two types of tournament play: free-to-play and a paid league option.
Registration ends June 14 with the preseason running until the end of June and the regular season through July. Playoffs start Aug. 7.
For rules, regulations and to register a team, visit crossfire.z8games.com.
Around the digital world:

• 2K Games announced a partnership with Nvidia to bring Nvidia PhysX technology to its upcoming crime saga, Mafia II (screen shot above). The game will be available Aug. 24 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. While the technology will benefit all versions, 2K and Nvidia say the action will "truly come alive" on the PC version.


• New downloadable content for Dead to Rights: Retribution will be offered June 1 from Namco Bandai Games America. A new mission in the GAC Pack will allow players to experience the action from the Grant City Anti-Crime's viewpoint. The pack will cost 400 Microsoft points through Xbox Live Marketplace and $4.99 on the PlayStation Network.

The Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 demo is now available for download on the Xbox Live marketplace and the Playstation Network.

The demo features a fully customizable Ryder Cup match that will have three holes on Celtic Manor Resort, the host venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 ships on June 8th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii consoles.

The racing genre is not one of my personal favorites when it comes to video games. So when I play racing games I go into it not expecting to be hooked. Well, Split Second got me hooked. Action, action and more action is how I would describe this game.

The career mode is set up in 12 episodes. You are a participant on the action car racing TV show Split Second. Each episode has different types of races and you need to earn a certain amount of credits to unlock the next full episode.

The races themselves are fast-paced and explosive. Your typical race will have eight cars and taking out your opponents with "power plays" is the best part of the game. You have a power play meter, divided into three sections, that fills up as you do things like drift, draft and get air time through jumps. All you need is one part of the meter to fill up to activate a power play. Once you get close enough to an opponent a logo will appear above the car. That will be your chance to activate the power play. The power plays are timed with the environment, so these aren't attacks that can be used at anytime. There are certain points on every course where power plays can be used. So you'll have to time them right and use them wisely. A well-timed power play can take out multiple opponents. My personal best so far has been a four-car wreck. You can go from 5th place to 1st place in a Split Second. Yes - pun intended. Power plays need to be timed just right. Not only to maximize the damage you do, but also to avoid wrecking yourself with your own power play.

One of my favorite power plays is a large crane that, when activated, will swoop down and take out any car in it's circular path. Another cool power play is a large boat that will slide from one end of the dock to the other. Smashing all cars that get in the way.

Filling up the entire meter allows you to do more spectacular power plays and even change the course itself. Power plays can also be used to activate shortcuts on the course. A garage door opening up or a bridge lowering are just a few examples of shortcuts.

So while Split Second is a frantic, fast-paced action racing game - there's a lot of strategy that comes into play as far as when to use power plays, course changers and shortcuts.

While a majority of the events on each Split Second episode are basic 8-car races, there are other types of challenges. Air Attack is a mode where you must evade missiles being shot from a helicopter. The more waves of missiles you avoid, the higher your score. There's also a mode called Eliminator, which is a last driver standing type of race. Every 60 seconds the car that is in last place blows up. Last car standing is the winner.

As you play through the game you'll unlock better, and more powerful, cars. You'll need the better cars to be able to race online competitively. I went into my first online race after playing only a few episodes of my career, and the best car I had available got left in the dust by my online opponents.

Split Second is also a game that's easy to pick up and play. As I mentioned before, I'm not big into racing games, and Split Second is very easy to handle. The development team at Black Rock Studios have made one of those types of games that is simple enough for a racing-game novice to play, but strategic and competitive enough for a racing-game veteran to enjoy.

Split Second hits stores on Tuesday May 18th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the PC.

A second package of new maps its on its way for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Activision announced the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack will be available starting June 3 through Xbox Live. Featured will be five new maps.
To mark the release, developer Infinity Ward will hold Double XP weekends beginning May 28 and June 4.
Earlier this year, Activision released a Stimulus Package of maps for COD2.
Elsewhere:

• GamesCampus.com plans a series of events for its free-to-play MLB Dugout Heroes. New features include a home-run derby and making formerly cash items available for purchase with NUTS (the in-game currency). Check it out at www.mlbdugoutheroes.com.


• Horror and mystery fans can look for a game about gruesome murders in 19th-century Plymouth, England. Viva Media has inked a deal with bitComposer for North American publishing rights to Alter Ego. Look for the point-and-click adventure in July.


• Coming in 2011, the next installment in the Stronghold series. SouthPeak Games announced a deal with developer Firefly Studios for distribution of Stronghold 3. Since 2001, the series has sold more than 5 million copies.

Last week 505 Games released a trailer showing the running game for their new football title Backbreaker. This week the passing game is on display.
Brackbreaker's passing game will be analog based, which is something I've never seen in a football game. You'll use the right analog stick to throw the ball. Every other football game I've ever played had button-based passing. Press A to throw to the A receiver, B to the B receiver, etc.. So this game will have a very different feel.

Electronic Arts announced that Tim Kitzrow will be the voice of EA Sports NBA Jam. Kitzrow was the voice of the original NBA Jam arcade video game from the early 90s.

EA also announced a contest via Facebook that allows users to submit their own one-liners. The winners will have their lines featured in the game -- voiced by Kitzrow.

"NBA JAM is one of the most popular and culturally influential arcade basketball games ever made, and is widely known for its one-liners like Boom-Shaka-Laka and He's on Fire," Kitzrow says. "I am really excited to be a part of the remake and for fans to create the expressions that could become culturally iconic in the years to come."

Hopefully one of the changes the development team will have to make is changing that LeBron James #23 Cavs jersey to a #6 Chicago Bulls jersey. As a Bulls fan I can dream a little. A duo of LBJ and Derrick Rose would be unstoppable on the real life and virtual court.

EA Sports NBA Jam is scheduled to ship this year for the Nintendo Wii. An exact date has yet to be announced.

Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that a 6-pack of Grateful Dead songs will make it's way to Rock Band on May 18th. Two tracks by The Smithereens will be available for individual download as well. Here's a list of the tracks.

• Grateful Dead - "Beat It on Down the Line"


• Grateful Dead - "Cumberland Blues"


• Grateful Dead - "Scarlet Begonias"


• Grateful Dead - "Throwing Stones"


• Grateful Dead - "Touch of Grey"


• Grateful Dead - "U.S. Blues"


• The Smithereens - "A Girl Like You"


• The Smithereens - "Only a Memory"

One lucky contestant could spend the summer as a gaming correspondent.
DreamCatcher Games is looking for a North American ArcaniA Gaming Correspondent.
To qualify, submit a one-minute video through The Ultimate Gaming Gig Group Page on Veoh.com. Tell why you should be the correspondent.
Judges will pick three finalists who will be flown to Los Angeles for the E3 Expo on June 17 where the winner will be announced.
The winner will earn a trip to GamesCom 2010 in Cologne, Germany; interviews with ArcaniA voice talent and producers; control of the ArcaniA blog, an ArcaniA branded Flip Video Cam; and an ArcaniA branded Dell notebook.
Around the horn:

• DICE announced a new mode called Onslaught for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (above). The co-op mode for four players takes them across four maps, each with a different focus. There also will be new vehicles, lighting and times of day.


• Capcom announced Lost Planet 2 is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3. It offers a campaign mode playable both in four-player online mode or two-player split screen; and 16-player online multiplayer.


• A new aviation title, WarBirds Red Baron, will be available for the PC and Mac on June 10 from Thriller New Media. The game features more than 12 aircraft from World War I.


• Atomicboy Software and Battlefront.com released a new demo for Empires of Steel, a turn-based strategy game of global domination. Check it out at www.battlefront.com.

Those concerned about tackling wargames can get a great introduction to the genre with Panzer General: Allied Assault.
Released back in October by Ubisoft and Petroglyph Studios through Xbox Live Arcade, PG can be had for 800 Microsoft points.
The one thing that stands out about Panzer General is that this is a strategy title that truly is playable on the Xbox 360.
Developers made that possible by creating a simplified game board and including cards as a play mechanic. Still, the game packs plenty of punch in terms of strategy and tactics.
Panzer General dates back to the 1990s. Then, it was one of the few wargame titles to develop a large popular following. With Allied Assault, Petroglyph revives the franchise.
In the single-player campaign, gamers control American forces vs. German troops in battles from D-Day through the end of the war. In multiplayer online mode, one runs the Germans and the other the Americans.
The playing surface depicts various types of terrain, from the bocage of Normandy to European cities. Terrain can affect the combat ability of a unit in that square.
Each turn, players place units on the board, move and attack. Most units can only move to the side, forward or backward, but there are special units that can move diagonally.
It's in the cards
The card system is at the core of Panzer General.
Cards depict units (infantry, armor and artillery), actions (dig in, air strike, bombardment) and special events (reinforcements, move double, etc.)
The deck consists of 60 cards. Players can create custom decks. More types of cards are unlocked as the game progresses.
At the start of each turn players can purchase cards depending on the number of prestige points they have. Those points are earned by controlling squares and eliminating enemy units.
After an attack is made, the combat points for both attacker and defender are calculated. The attacking unit benefits from support from friendly units also adjacent to the target hex and from any artillery within range.
At that point, both attacker and defender start playing combat cards. These do a variety of things, such as an air strike that cancels the defending unit's artillery support. Play of these cards ends when both sides run out of eligible cards. Players also can elect to play no card.
Next, players can sacrifice a card from their hand. Each card is worth a specific number of points. Those points go toward the combat.
Finally, a huge die rolls onto the board. Its number is the final thing that affects the outcome of the battle.
If the defending unit survives, it can fire back. (Note: defending units that are dug in get to attack first.)
Final analysis
Panzer General: Allied Assault will entertain both beginners and experienced players with decent graphics and animations, and engrossing gameplay.
Best of all, it makes a serious strategy title accessible.
Note: PG Allied Assault also is available as a board game. A sequel board game, Panzer General: Russian Assault, is expected this summer.

EA's Skate 3 hit stores this week and I had a chance to speak with producer Brian Lindley about the game's new features.

Disney Interactive Studios has released the latest video for their action racing title Split/Second.

Split/Second hits stores on May 18th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Windows PC. Split/Second won the Game Critics Award for Best Racing Game at E3 last year.

505 Games released a new video today showing off how the running game will work in its upcoming football title Backbreaker.

When playing with the running back all actions will be on the right analog stick. You'll have to hold down the right trigger on the Xbox 360 (I assume R2 on a PS3 controller) to do more aggressive running moves.

Two companies known for their commitment to creating quality wargames for the PC will become one.
Matrix Games and Slitherine on Monday announced a merger that will create the world's largest wargaming specialist publisher.
Slitherine has worked with Osprey, Scholastic, Casemate Publishing, Spike TV, Showtime and many others. Matrix is known for presenting titles from developers such as Talonsoft, Gary Grigsby and Strategic Studies Group.

Elsewhere:

• EA announced a new game mode (V2 Vengeance), new map (Midnight Mayhem), three new night maps and new rewards for recruiting new players to its free-to-play Battlefield Heroes.

• Heroes of Newerth will launch May 12 and will be available for Windows, Mac and Linux for $30 from S2 Games. Heroes is a stand-alone version of the Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft 3.

• New screens are available for Naval Assault: The Killing Tide, which will be available June 15 for the Xbox 360 from 505 Games. Developed by Artech Studios, Tide is the first submarine-based title for next generation titles

SEGA released a new video for it's upcoming title Alpha Protocol. The video shows some of the weapons you'll use, stealth tactics and combat moves.

EA's Skate 3 hits stores on Tuesday May 11th. Here's a look at the latest trailer.

Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that nine Judas Priest tracks from the British Steel album will be available for download next week. The following tracks can be downloaded individually or as an entire album.

• Breaking the Law (Live)


• Rapid Fire (Live)


• Metal Gods (Live)


• Grinder (Live)


• United (Live)


• Living After Midnight (Live)


• You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise (Live)


• The Rage (Live)


• Steeler (Live)

Guinness World Records revealed their top 50 games series as voted on by over 13,000 readers. Halo took the top spot followed by Call of Duty and The Legend of Zelda.

The rest of the top 50.
Guitar Hero (#4), Metal Gear (#5), Super Mario Bros. (#6), World of Warcraft (#7), Gears of War (#8), Super Smash Bros. (#9), Grand Theft Auto (#10), Pokémon (# 11), Resident Evil (#12). Fallout (#13), Half-Life (#14), Sonic the Hedgehog (#15), Counter-Strike (#16), Runescape (#17), FIFA (#18), Kingdom Hearts (#19), Final Fantasy (#20), Pac-Man (#21), Madden NFL (#22), The Sims (#23), Tomb Raider (#24), WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW (#25), Rock Band (#26), LIttleBigPlanet (#27), Saints Row (#28), The Elder Scrolls (#29), God of War (#30),GoldenEye 007 (#31), Bioshock (#32), KillZone (#33), Skate (#34), Left 4 Dead (#35), Need for Speed (#36), Chrono Trigger (#37), Gran Turismo (#38), StarCraft (#39), Ratchet & Clank (#40), Pong (#41), Tom Clancy's (# 42), Star Wars: Battlefront (#43), Battlefield (#44), Diablo (#45), Lego Batman (#46), Mario Kart (#47), Burnout (#48), Crash Bandicoot (#49) and Pro Evolution Soccer (#50).

"We decided to take a different approach with this list than we did in the previous edition," Guinness World Records Gaming Editor Gaz Deaves said. "Instead of asking developers, industry insiders and journalists to rank their favorite titles, we approached a different kind of expert: the players themselves! We are confident that this 'top 50' more accurately reflects the tastes of the average gamer and not just the critics."

Well, the folks at Guinness should go back to the old formula because the "players themselves" failed them miserably. This list has so many issues that I don't even know where to start. So I'll just try to keep it to my own - top 10 things wrong with this list.

1) Why is LEGO Batman on the list? I could buy the LEGO franchise as a whole being on a top 50 list, but not LEGO Batman on its own. If anything LEGO Star Wars should have been on the list.

2) Sonic the Hedgehog at #15. The original Sonic the Hedgehog for SEGA Genesis was a great game. The following titles have never lived up to the first. Even the ones that have been made on next-gen consoles. Maybe Sonic cracks the top 50, but it shouldn't be ranked as high as it is.

3) Tom Clancy's games at #42. The list just says Tom Clancy's. So I assume they are including all the Tom Clancy titles such as Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon? And if that's the case, those three titles alone should earn the Tom Clancy franchise a much higher spot on the list.

4) Guitar Hero over Mario. I love the Guitar Hero franchise, and it would be on my top 50 list. But it would not rank ahead of the Mario Bros. franchise - one of the greatest of all-time.

5) Where's Metroid? I don't really need to say more than that.

6) Saints Row at #28. Saints Row is fun to play, but it's not the 28th top video game series. I wouldn't have it close to the top 50.

7) Skate at #34 but no Tony Hawk. Skate has taken over as the top skateboarding video game. And Tony Hawk's Ride was panned by critics. But if we are looking at the franchise as a whole, Tony Hawk still would get the nod over Skate in my opinion.

8) Where's Mega Man? See #5

9) Pong #41? I understand paying respect to the old school, but it has to stop at some point. Pong should not be on a top 50 list.

10) No love for the fighters? No Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter? I guess the readers in this poll would rather play Pong.

Wade McGilberry, 24, of Semmes, Ala., finds himself $1million richer thanks to his skill at videogaming.
2K Sports awarded McGilberry that amount for being the first person to pitch a verified perfect game in the company's Major League Baseball 2K10. The contest was run through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.
In other MLB 2K10 news: A season simulation predicts the Philadelphia Phillies will take the World Series 4 games to 1 over the Boston Red Rox. Sorry, Sox and Cub fans, no city series this year.
Elsewhere:

• Blizzard Entertainment announced that the eagerly awaited StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will hit store shelves on July 27.


• On Oct. 12, the latest installment of the Medal of Honor franchise will be released by Electronic Arts. The setting, however, will change from World War II to modern-day Afghanistan.


• Ubisoft promises Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2, an aerial combat game, will arrive this fall for the Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and even the Wii. Below is a screenshot.

  

Kalypso Media released screenshots for Disciples III: Renaissance, a turn-based strategy game. The game is scheduled to be available in July for the PC.
The company says the title "represents a leap forward in the evolution of the turn-based strategy RPG."
As a big fan of earlier games in the Disciples series I will be interested to see what Renaissance has to offer.
Above is a look at one of the screenshots.

505 Games and NaturalMotion released a new trailer for Backbreaker that details the game's in-depth customization features.

You'll be able to change everything about the teams on the game including logos, uniforms and end zones. Or you can create a new team from scratch.

I can't wait to customize the Chicago Bears, uh, I mean Chicago Grizzlies. Go Grizzlies!

Backbreaker ships on June 1st for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. For more information check out the official Backbreaker website.

A beta test for Halo Reach from Bungie is under way through May 19.
The game, scheduled for fall release for the Xbox 360, pits members of Noble Team against Covenant invaders on the planet Reach.
The beta is accessible through the Halo 3: ODST game disc. An Xbox Live Gold membership and Internet connection also are required.
During the test, Bungie will roll out various game types.
More info on the beta can be found at www.welcometonobleteam.com.
Elsewhere:

• An add-on pack for Just Cause 2 now is available for $1.99 from the PlayStation Store and 160 Microsoft points from Xbox Live Marketplace

I got my copy of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa on Friday and I've been playing it all weekend. The game is solid and definitely the most in-depth World Cup game ever. There's so many different game modes, offline World Cup, online World Cup, World Cup qualifying, Captain Your Country and regular online exhibition games. The gameplay is basically the same as FIFA 10, but this game has that extra flair that comes with the World Cup.

After playing it several times this weekend I've realized that, even though I enjoy them, I'm terrible at soccer games. I was playing an online match with the U.S. and lost 2-0 to a guy playing with Kazakhstan. Yes, Borat's homeland.

I also had a chance to check out the Online World Cup game mode. This was a feature I was very excited about, but I'm disappointed with the way it's set up. I was hoping for a league style similar to EA's other sports titles like NCAA College Football or Madden. In those two games you have a commissioner and you invite friends to play in your league or season. Then all the user controlled teams play their games and the AI games are simulated. You can choose, in the case of Madden's online leagues, to have all 32 NFL teams user-controlled or you can have two or three people in a league. 2010 FIFA World Cup was set up differently.

When you enter an online World Cup tournament you face a random opponent of your skill level. Then that country is placed in your group. There are a few problems with that. First, I rarely play against random people online. When it comes to one-on-one sports games I stick to playing people on my friends list. Second, people who play online tend to always take the best teams (Lakers, Yankees, Florida Gators) and FIFA is no different. In my first online World Cup experience the other three teams in my pool (I was the U.S.) were Argentina, England and Portugal. Quite possibly the toughest 3-team draw in the history of the World Cup. Needless to say I went 0-3 and didn't advance to the round of 16. In my second try I again faced England (who is really in the U.S. group) Turkey and the Ivory Coast. An easier road, but the results were no better as I was 0-3 again.

On the positive side, the online World Cup setup does allow you to sit down and play an entire tournament in one sitting. Even if you were in a league with all of your friends there would be a waiting period as people would have to play their games. I'll definitely be playing it again, I just would have liked a league setup similar to EA's other sports titles. I just don't like the randomness of it. Who are you playing? What country will you be playing? Is the person you're playing a fair player?

Overall 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is a fun game to play. Even though it seems like I've been outscored 100-4, I'm still having fun playing it. On the bright side I scored my first goal on a nice header. I had to drop it down to amateur level so I could finally get a win. But I've worked my way back up to professional level.

Click on the link below to listen to my interview with 2010 FIFA World Cup producer Matt Prior.